North America / USA / Chicago

The mission of the Chicago International Salsa Congress is to unite cultures and generations, engender leadership through empowerment opportunities in its showcase and to keep alive the history of the many cultures collaboration in the creation and evolution of Latin and Afro-Caribbean music and dance.

The Chicago International Salsa Congress is brought to you by a special group of dedicated individuals whose energy, skills, passion and perseverance unite to bring you the number one Latin Music and Dance event in the Midwest!

In 2002 they produced the first Chicago International Salsa Congress (CISC) now in its 14th year. The CISC fosters personal awareness, develops leadership, creativity and inspires highest performance by providing emerging artists an opportunity to learn from and perform with professional artists in the congress showcase.

Schedule: Chicago International Salsa Congress

INSTRUCTORS

Enjoy 3 days of over 70 workshops covering Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced levels of dance styles, movement and musicality. The instructors are from American and European continent to don’t stop dancing.

PERFORMERS

The CISC produces seven Dance Showcases to excite your senses and inspire your creativity. Featuring world-class dancers from near and far, you will be captivated as we unleash their talents on the stage. The shows include our Matinee Emerging Artists Showcases at 4:00PM and World Class Dance Spectacular at 8:00PM featuring national and international performers.

LIVE MUSIC

CICS will present an unforgettable dancing experience in an elegant Grand Ballroom where Latin Music’s top artists and salseros connect. Enjoy four nights of non-stop dancing on our spacious dance floor until 3:00 AM to the hottest sounds of yesterday and today. The Chicago International Salsa Congress Concert Series is unmatched in celebrating Latin Music’s timeless presence in honoring the legendary pioneers while inviting a forward vision as new, young artists take up the torch and carry it forward.

TROMBORANGA SALSA ORCHESTRA

As part of the new generation of independent latin orchestras, Tromboranga is the pure essence of “Salsa Dura”. Tromboranga’s spicy ingredients are the trombones sound, solid and strong percussion, and they recover the essence of “soneos” (voice improvisation among the chorus). With influences from the salsa music from the 60s and 70s, maintaining a raw, strong and a very danceable sound.

His original songs like “Humildad”, “Palo pa la campana”, “Amigo el ratón”, “Adios que te vaya bien”, talks about stories that can describe the life of any of us, and they have become number one in Latin radios and dance floors worldwide. Tromboranga is made up of musicians from the Caribbean and Europe, all residents of Barcelona, Spain.

JIMMY BOSCH

(18 October 1959, Jersey City, New Jersey), known also “El Trombón Criollo”, is a trombonist, composer and producer of Afro-Cuban jazz, salsa and Cuban music.

At thirteen he was already part of different local bands of Latin music. At age 18, while studying classical music at Rutgers University, he meets Manny Oquendo and joins his band. He plays with Manny Oquendo about two decades; then comes to work with Marc Anthony. In 1996 he created his own band, “Los Masters”, with whom he recorded two albums. He has his own record label, JRGR Records.

YOKO LA JAPONESA SALSERA

Born in Osaka, Japan, Yoko Mimata began her artistic career at the age of fifteen as a vocalist in a rock band her native Osaka. Las Estrellas, a salsa band composed of former members of the famous Japanese orchestra “Orquesta de la Luz”, invited Yoko to join them as lead vocalist.

Subsequently, in 1997, settled in the Big Apple, city in that began to venture into the salsero environment. Her great debut took place at the Salsa Congress in New York in 2006, where she performed with the orchestra Chino Nuñez and Friends. Later she became the lead vocalist and participated in the recording of the second album by Chino Nuñez, “Dr. Salsa”; In which she sings duet with Ray Sepulveda “Hoy les cantamos”.

NELSON GONZÁLEZ

(Born May 30, 1948) is a Puerto Rican tres player. He specializes in the Cuban tres, and only occasionally plays the Puerto Rican tres (similar to the cuatro). He is a prolific session musician and has been a member of renowned salsa ensembles such as Fania All-Stars, Orchestra Harlow and Típica 73. He has authored a book on the tres guitar method published by Mel Bay. Together with Pancho Amat and Papi Oviedo he is considered one of the most influential modern tres players.

HERMAN OLIVERA

He is a salsa singer from Newark, New Jersey. Born to Puerto Rican parents, he began his career in New York City where he earned his reputation as a “sonero,” that is, an expert in the demanding art of lyric extemporization. In a genre overrun by pop-oriented singers, Herman’s musicality and mastery in this regard garnered him the sobriquet of “El Sonero del Siglo XXI”. Today Herman counts among the most in-demand and hardworking salsa singers around. His voice literally permeates the sound of hard-hitting salsa from the 1980s to the present-with album credits with the likes of Tito Puente and Eddie Palmieri, among many others where he has contributed to the continued vitality and development of the sonero tradition.

DJS

The fifteen DJs at this year’s congress will definitely get your feet, hips, shoulders, and everything else grooving on the dance floor with the best Salsa, Mambo, Cha Cha Cha on the planet!!!

VENUE INFORMATION

HYATT REGENCY O’HARE is just 5 minutes from O’Hare airport with a free shuttle. Easy access by train or car. Beautifully appointed guest rooms, great amenities and nearby shopping and dining make this a perfect getaway for your CISC weekend.